


Drop the Champagne

by tisViktoria



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Fluff, Other, Secret best-friend crushes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 10:57:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5624500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tisViktoria/pseuds/tisViktoria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A New Year's Eve kiss, LaFerry style.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Drop the Champagne

**Author's Note:**

> For the sake of the story, in this fic Perry isn’t a very religious person. Regardless of her canon view on things, just for the sake of this, she doesn’t care about tradition. For the story.  
> Also, Perry’s “phases” aren’t accurate to what’s in the show. This is a stand-alone piece, and I’ve just moved things around as it has suited me.  
> WARNING, CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ORPHAN BLACK SEASON 3!!!!!!!!!

Their first New Year’s kiss was their first kiss.

It was the first time they’d been able to be anywhere but at home for New Year’s Eve. It was the year they had finally both turned eighteen, and to celebrate their first adult NYE, they were going to a club. LaFontaine’s birthday being in the spring, they had been to one before, but only a few times. They hadn’t found it all that amusing. But Perry’s birthday being on the 29th of December, this was a first for her.

They’d spoken about it loads of times, obviously. Perry’s constant movie-choices of romantic comedies left little to the imagination when it came to nights out and what could be expected of them, New Year’s Eves in particular. The champagne, the countdown, the toasts to the newly started year, and people kissing when the clock struck.

LaFontaine didn’t think there was going to be much of any of that for them. As secretly excited as they knew Perry was (it had been her idea that they should go in the first place, but she kept playing it down, like actually getting excited would be improper. “ _It’s only for the_ experience _, LaF!”_ ), neither of them were the type to get drunk and dance on a table or anything. It wouldn’t be a wild night – perhaps they’d get champagne, they’d join the countdown, and then they would most likely be bored until they decided to go home. At least that was what they were hoping, and expecting. They hoped that the let’s-go-home decision would come quickly – they much more enjoyed being at home with Perry rather than crowded clubs stinking of alcohol.

But they had to be excited tonight, for Perr’s sake. No matter how much she underplayed it, they knew she was really happy to finally get to join them going out. She had even decided that they come over several hours before they had to, to get ready. As if LaFontaine needed more than fifteen minutes to get ready for anything. It was definitely for Perry’s sake, and the company. Not that they minded seeing Perry trying on dresses, but they tried not to think about that too much.

When they arrived, she opened the door wearing a bathrobe and wet hair, and their breath caught in their throat a little. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She smiled brightly at them before pulling them inside by the arm. “Come inside, it’s freezing out there and I’m all wet.”

“Sorry.” They grinned sheepishly, closed the door behind them and went in to hug her. “Better?”

She rolled her eyes, patting their back. “Oh, yes, much better.” She stood back, hands on their shoulder, holding them at arm’s length and looking them up and down. They felt their neck and ears heat up uncomfortably. “You’re looking fancy. The bowtie really does it.”

“Well, you told me it’s only our first New Year’s as adults once.”

Perry smiled fondly and lifted her gaze and hand to LaFontaine’s hair. “Indeed. And hair up – I like it. Now I just need to match you.”

They almost snorted. “Don’t try to match this, you can’t pull off the grandpa-look.”

She swatted their shoulder before smoothing out the fabric there. “You know what I meant. I have no desire to pull off _the grandpa-look_. Suspenders and all.”

“Hey, you said you liked it!”

“Yeah. So now let’s find my _equivalent_ to suspenders.”

They laughed while shaking their head, following her up the stairs into her room. Looking around at the unusual mess, it was obvious that she’d been at this for a while. Clothes were _everywhere_. They sat down on her bed while Perry immediately returned to going through her wardrobe with a fierceness more fit the search for a missing child than a dress.

“Alright, so I’ve pretty much gone through _everything I own_ already, but what do you think of this?” She held up a deep red number in front of her. “I know I’ve worn it before, but…” she trailed off, frowning at her reflection in the mirror.

“Perry, you look gorgeous in that dress, it doesn’t matter if you’ve worn it before”, LaF told her earnestly. “But didn’t you buy something glittery specifically for this night a couple months ago?” They remembered her talking about New Year’s, pulling something silver and shimmery from a shopping bag.

She perked up. “Oh, you’re right! I can’t believe I forgot about that!”

“Probably because you got overexcited, put it somewhere special and then forgot it because it wasn’t in your wardrobe.”

A balled-up t-shirt came flying towards their head. “Don’t make fun!”

“I’m not making fun, Perr, it’s just that you _always_ do that. You just have to remember where you put it after you got it.”

“Easier said than done!” She was spinning around on the spot now, glaring at the piles of clothes that were crowding the corners of the room and most open spaces on the floor. “I have no idea where it is!”

“Calm down.” They resisted the urge to roll their eyes. Why this task always fell to them would forever remain a mystery. “Get working on what you want to do with your hair, I’ll find it.”

“Would you? You are the best.”

“I know. Go, hurry. Your makeup should match the silver.”

“Got it. Thank you.” They tensed up slightly (but couldn’t hide a smile) as she rushed over to kiss their cheek before hurrying into the bathroom. They shook it off quickly – find dress now, worry about crush on best friend later. There were about three places the dress could be in – under the bed, crushed beneath the long forgotten contents of a drawer, or Mrs Perry had it.

(People saw Perry as such an organized person, but when it came to items of clothing, she was an entirely different person.)

They didn’t have to ask Perry’s mom this time, but found the glittering number under the bed among heavy books, dried herbs, several wands and a crystal ball (why put it _there_ of all places to begin with?). Perry’s Wicca-phase had passed about a year ago. While they definitely didn’t miss the _unlogical_ rants about the universe and magic and karma, they had never minded the flower crowns or the memories that came back with the smells of the herbs, times they’d spent next to each other, studying polar opposite topics in peaceful silence.

But mostly they were grateful she didn’t make them drink herbal tea every hour of every day anymore.

“Found it!”

“Oh, thank you so much!” Perry shouted from the bathroom opposite her own room.

“That’s what I’m here for. Unhelpfully watching until you admit to needing my help finding your things, offering moral support and eating your food.”

She rolled her eyes again. “That’s all you do, is it?”

“When I’m here, pretty much. Don’t you agree?”

“Occasionally. Anyway, where was it?”

“Under the bed, with your old Wicca-things. Should infuse some good luck into it, right?” they joked half-heartedly.

“Don’t be ridiculous. It wouldn’t hurt, though.”

“You don’t need _luck_ to go out, Perr.”

“No, I guess not. Maybe for other things, though.”

“Like what?”

“Taming my hair. Up or down?”

LaF liked Perry’s hair either way, but they couldn’t just blurt that out. “Well, the dress has a halter neckline, right? So up, maybe?”

“ _Halter neckline_? Did you just make that up? Because this is _not_ a halter neckline.”

“I don’t know what it’s called, so?”

“How can you speak Latin but not extinguish different terms for dress-necklines?”

“Priorities, Perr.”

“Whatever you say. Anyway, I have a new idea for my hair.”

 

\------------------------------------------------

 

It didn’t matter that they’d helped her into looking like that. It still took their breath away. Lithe limbs covered by shimmering silver fabric that seemed to enhance the beauty of them times ten times a hundred. Eyes, eyebrows and lips elegantly marked and _heels_ , making her even taller than she usually was. And _the hair_. Perry had decided to borrow her mom’s straighteners, and for every lock pulled flat, LaFontaine had inaudibly gulped. With good reason. If anything had ever looked _drop dead gorgeous_ , it was Lola Perry right then.

She stopped them right outside the entrance, pulling on their elbow. ”Right, do you remember all the escape plans?”

“Perr, it’s a club. There will be lots of people around, we don’t need an escape plan.”

“What if something happens, though? You can never be too prepared, and this is ‘unfamiliar territory’, LaF.”

“I know, but that’s sort of the point? It’s supposed to be exciting.”

“It can be exciting alright, but I don’t want it to be _dangerous_.”

“It won’t be unless something drastic happens, Perr. Calm down, we’ve seen enough movies to be able to predict all the possible problems we could encounter at a bar. I’m sure you’ve got a list.”

“I do.”

“Give me your worst.”

“One of us might get terribly drunk and have to be carried home.”

“You made a very specific drinking plan. It shouldn’t make either of us too drunk to walk. And if anything like that happens anyway, we’ll still be fine as long as the other gets both of us home. We can do that.”

“So what if we’re _both_ too drunk to walk?”

“We’ll call your mom. She’ll be up in a second. But I’m sure it won’t come to that.”

“Fine. Two: what if someone _else_ is terribly drunk and somehow hinders us from getting home?”

“Like picking a fight? One, if it’s inside the club, there’ll be guards to take care of it. If it’s outside, that’s no different from when we’re in town. Hit and run. Or something. Besides, have you seen my right hook?”

“I’ve seen it knocking dangerous chemicals off desks onto expensive rugs.”

“That was one time!”

“One time too many, Sweetie. Three: what if someone gross comes up like in movies, like to flirt with you or something?”

“Right, like they’d be flirting with _me_. Not with you looking like that.” They ignored her blush. “It’ll be alright. Just, I dunno, wink at me if you need me to come rescue you.”

“What about you?”

“Me? Right hook, remember?”

“I don’t want you to use your right hook in the club, LaF.”

“Fine. I’ll wink too. Or something.”

“Good, now that’s decided.” Perry strutted off towards the guards (she never wore heels, how was she able to walk like she’d been born in them now?) outside the doors, showing her ID and gracefully accepting a _happy late birthday_ congratulation. LaF shook their head and followed.

After they’d left their jackets and entered, their head was already aching slightly from the music pulsating through every physical matter in the room. It felt like their ribcage was casually bopping along in their chest, bones vibrating. Of course they understood exactly what was happening in their body, but that didn’t make the sensation any nicer.

“What do you want to do?” they had to yell for the words to reach Perry.

“Let’s get drinks straight away, there’s going to be a crowd at the bar later!”

They nodded and headed towards the counter with several bartenders behind it. Perry had presented them with her carefully thought-through plan of what to drink for them the night before. Start with a drink of choice, have one shot each later, and then something to toast with as the clock struck. It wasn’t a bad plan, they supposed, depending on how well Perry handled alcohol, but they’d see about that tomorrow.

Perry’s first drink of the night turned out to be a White Russian, and they wondered why they weren’t surprised. Hot chocolate was a favourite of Perry’s, why wouldn’t cold chocolate be as well? LaF asked for a regular beer.

Their no-longer-curly-haired companion made her way towards a table with them on her tail. Several people looked after Perry as she walked past (they both liked and hated how short the dress was. Not dangerously short, but _almost_ , and enough for them to send scorching, threatening looks at whoever’s eyes dropped too far below). They sat down next to her, raising their bottle. “To the passing of this year, and both of us being adults in the next?”

Perry raised her glass to clink it against the bottle. “And to going to Silas in the fall. Living on our own.”

They clinked, too, and they both drank, smiling. LaF was letting their eyes trail Perry’s jawline when a male’s voice interrupted them.

“Hello, ladies.”

LaF gritted their teeth through an annoyed sigh and looked up to see a man nearing fourty (what was he doing there at all?) looking at them. Or rather, looking at Perry. “I see you have nearly finished your drink miss. May I offer you another?”

Perry’s eyes were wide, probably with surprise at his age and _nerve_. “No thank you, sir. We’re quite alright.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Ah, well. Don’t hesitate to come ask if there’s anything else I can do for you.”

Perry made a disgusted face in LaFontaine’s direction, who quickly ended the exchange, struggling to conceal their feelings. “She won’t. Go find someone your own age.”

“Why, how dare you speak to me in such a manner? I am a baron!”

“A baron twenty years older than us or more. Just leave us alone.”

“My!” He continued muttering to himself as he wandered off, probably about the nerve of youths these days.

“Oh my God”, Perry huffed out. “I can’t believe him! Is that supposed to be my first _I-met-someone-in-a-bar_ story?”

“No, no! God no. You didn’t really meet him, he just…tried.  This will be amusing in a few weeks, and then you can tell it like a fun story, like _LaFontaine and Perry walks into a bar…_ ”

She actually laughed, to their relief. “Forget about him, Perr. There’ll probably be a few more of them, and they’ll probably be nicer.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You look better than most people in this place,” they said, looking around quickly. “Yep, confirmed.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Perry pulled out her phone of her handbag. “I better tell my mom we got here alright.”

“And that we’re still alive.”

“That too,” she said with a laugh and started typing before catching sight of the time. “Oh, it’s twenty past eleven!”

“Ah, yeah. Anything special you want to do with the last fourty minutes of the year? You can always create some dirty secret to leave behind in this year to never be spoken of again, or something.”

“Like what, accept a drink from _the baron_? I’ll stay here, please and thank you.”

“Well, you won’t have much fun, then.”

Another new voice cut in. “You sure of that?” Two near identical boys (fortunately looking close to their own age) were standing by their table. “Can we sit down?”

Perry moved out of the way and closer to LaF helpfully. “Oh, sure!”

The one with the longer hair sat down next to LaFontaine with a shy smile, and the other one next to Perry. “I’m Will, and this is my brother JP.”

“Nice to meet you both!” Perry shook Will’s hand and nodded towards JP with a polite smile. LaF echoed her and addressed their preferred pronouns, and then excitedly asked, “You’re identical twins, aren’t you?” Their only difference in appearance was the hair.

JP laughed quietly. “How did you guess?” His voice was much softer than his brother’s, though not unexpectedly, as he seemed to definitely be the quieter one of the two.

“Oh, I ruled out cloning. Science hasn’t quite caught up with _Orphan Black_ yet.”

He laughed again, a little louder this time. “If only!”

“Right? Do you watch it?”

“Of course. I’m still slightly shocked at the finale.”

“I _know_! The science behind making both Leda and Caldor of Mrs S’s mother would be just _incredible_ if it existed! Not to mention how much I want to study her DNA.”

“I won’t pretend I’d understand a lot of it, but I find it _very_ fascinating how different lives made the different clones so very unique. I mean, if Alison is an alcoholic, does it mean that all the others are, too? It goes to show that all humans have a huge variety of possibilities in their lives, biologically speaking, but you can only go one way. And in this case you can see how different you could have been.”

“You don’t say. Just Cosima’s sexuality, for one. What made _her_ gay and not the others? If this was real, it would be actual proof that sexuality isn’t a disease or whatever, but a result of impressions and how she was brought up. Not to mention the eyesight. And _Tony_!”

 

\--------------

 

Perry glanced up from her (honestly, quite boring) conversation about university plans with Will to see and hear LaFontaine animatedly explaining something about epigenetics to JP beside her. They had that look in their eye they got when they got to discuss cellular developments with their science teacher, and she felt a sting of jealousy. They’d only been speaking to JP for a little while, not even twenty minutes. Perry couldn’t hold those sorts of conversations with LaF, she didn’t understand them. She couldn’t create that spark in their eyes.

She shook her head. She shouldn’t be thinking of that now. Glancing at the time, she suddenly jumped up from her chair. “LaF!”

That shook them out of their conversation. “Yeah?”

“It’s quarter to twelve.”

“Oh! We better find something to toast with!”

Will spoke up. “Do you want to join us? We’re here with a group of people. Two of my friends, our sisters, our sister’s girlfriend, the girlfriend’s friend… if you don’t want to toast alone, that is?”

Perry shot a quick look at LaF. “We don’t mind, do we, LaF?”

LaF shook their head. They doubted it would make a difference who they toasted with. “Fine by me.”

“That’s settled, then. Shall we?” Will stood up and offered his arm to Perry. Old-fashioned, but… weird. She frowned at it for a second before taking it. JP just gestured for LaFontaine to go ahead and followed.

After getting a total of ten glasses of champagne, they put them down at a table to introduce LaF and Perry to everyone. Mattie, intimidating adopted sister of Will and JP, oldest in the group. Carmilla, also adopted and a year older than Will and JP. Her girlfriend, Laura. Laura’s friend Danny. Will’s friends Kirsch and Theo. They were a mostly friendly bunch – Carmilla glared while Laura smiled at them – but Perry seemed happy to find new friends. She was exchanging numbers with both Will and JP while chatting to Danny (a couple years older than her) about college choices (did she ever stop thinking about the future?) when the DJ announced that the countdown was about to begin.

As LaF had predicted, it didn’t matter who they toasted with, because as soon as everyone in the club gathered on the dancefloor for the countdown, they’d lost them all anyway. They’d been lucky they’d held on to Perry’s elbow, or they’d be alone with nothing but a glass of champagne in this sea of strangers. Perr didn’t look too disappointed though, smiling down at them, gripping her glass tightly with both hands.

“Don’t break it,” they told her.

“I won’t, don’t be silly.”

Of course she wouldn’t. “I know.”

The mass of bodies around them started chanting loudly. “ _Ten! Nine! Eight!_ ”

Perry looked down at LaFontaine. Slightly uncomfortable in the big crowd, slightly dishevelled from it, but still holding onto her arm lightly. A new year was coming, new beginnings, resolutions and selves, but she found she didn’t want to look away from the person she’d spent every year with since she was five years old.

“ _Seven! Six! Five!_ ”

She gave them her champagne glass. “Hold this.”

They looked confused. “What are you doing?”

“I need my hands free.”

“ _Four…three…two…one!_ ”

She looked into their eyes (still a frown above them, looking a bit worried), and let her body do the thinking for her. Her hands cupped their cheeks, she leaned down, and pressed her lips to theirs.

It was yearning. It was warm. It wasn’t hurried. It wasn’t heatedly passionate, but it was long awaited, and there was certainly fireworks and cheering. All around them, in fact.

She felt two hands sneak around her waist, arms tugging her closer. Her heart made a double-beat, sped up – she hadn’t been thinking of the possible consequences to this five seconds ago when she did it, but now her heart was soaring in her chest because LaFontaine was holding her close and kissing her back. Their lips against hers felt even better than she had imagined. Their arms around her waist made her skin tingle, and their body pressed against hers made her completely forget that they were on a dancefloor in the middle of a big crowd.

Her eyes flew open. _She was kissing her best friend on a dancefloor in the middle of a big crowd_.


End file.
